As teachers have more and more access to the Internet to find lesson plans, pictures, music, etc., teachers need to become aware of the dangers of copyright. “Copyright is a form of protection given to the authors or creators of “original works of authorship” (Copyright Kids!). Copyright laws protect your work from being copied, distributed, performed, displayed, or modified/adapted/translated without your permission. Not everything is protected from copyright though. Ideas, discoveries, principles, titles, and slogans are just a few of the items that copyright does not cover (Copyright Kids!). There are exceptions to the Copyright law under the Fair Use doctrine which is explained below. For teachers and students, access to materials protected under the Fair Use Guidelines for Educators must be closely followed when not downloading material from the public domain or from educational Web sites (Willard, 2004). Teachers especially need to be careful when downloading music or pictures because chances are, they belong to someone else and permission needs to be asked in order for it to be used. Students also need to be aware of these rules so they do not illegally download or borrow another author’s work.Sometimes, all it takes is for the intended user to ask the author for permission of use. In other cases, a permission fee has to be paid. “Permission fees are negotiable and will vary depending on the amount and nature of the material you intend to use: (Copyright Kids!). When contacting the author, make sure you be specific, but to the point. Allow a negotiation for the permission fee to make both parties happy. To register for copyright, the author must apply for registration and complete a form from the Copyright Office. There are different forms that need to be completed depending on the type of work you are copyrighting. After all forms are complete, “mail the completed forms, two copies of the work and a registration fee of $35.00 or $45.00 to Register of Copyrights” (Copyright Kids!). ("Copyright symbol," 2012) Resources: 1. Copyright kids!. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.copyrightkids.org/aboutusframes.htm2. Willard, N. E. (2002, June 28). Schools, the internet, and copyright law. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech121.shtml3. (2012). Copyright symbol. (2012). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://copyrightsymbolmac.com/
Fair Use
Fair Use is a law that limits the copyright law. The Fair Use law provides exceptions for copyrights to teachers and students allowing small parts of copyrighted works to be used in teaching if it is cited and noted that it is copyrighted material and who produced the material. “Fair use is a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism” ("Chapter 9: Fair use," 2009). The law sets out four factors to decide whether material is considered “fair use” or not. These four points are purpose and character of the use, the nature of the original work, how much and how substantial a part of the original was taken and the effect of the new use on the market for or value of the original work (“Fair Use Of”, 2006).
“The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined.” (“Copyright fair use,” 2009). If you criticize an author’s work, you may freely take a quotation without asking the author for permission. If the author who has the copyright disagrees with your interpretation of Fair Use, they may pursue a lawsuit. If it is not Fair Use then you are infringing “upon the rights of the copyright owner and may be liable for damages” (“Chapter 9: Fair use,” 2009). It is somewhat difficult to obtain an image or graphic due to copyright but the fourth fair use statement applies to this area. This also applies for online music and videos, so the availability of these resources are slim for educational purposes.
U.S. Copyright Office, U.S. Copyright Office. (2009).Copyright fair use (FL-102). Retrieved from U.S. Copyright Office website: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
Creative Commons (CC) is a nonprofit organization that is working to make access to information on the Internet more accessible to users without the limitations of copyrights. Free and easy to use copyright licenses are available to obtain through Creative Commons. These licenses are not an alternative to copyright, but they work together with copyright to help suit individual needs. Creative Commons provides individuals with flexibility, but it still protects the author’s work. “There are hundreds of millions of works, from songs and videos to scientific and academic material, available to the public for free and legal use under the terms of our copyright licenses, with more being contributed every day” (Sabbagh, 2012). Some companies that use the Creative Commons license are: Flickr, Google, Wikipedia, Whitehouse.gov, and the Public Library of Science. Creative Commons materials can be found by visiting the http://creativecommons.org website. Creative Commons “works to minimize barriers by providing free licenses and tools that anyone can use to share their educational materials with the world” (“Education,” 2008). This helps teachers easily find and access worksheets, lesson plans, videos, and other digital and print materials.
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1. Copyright kids!. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.copyrightkids.org/aboutusframes.htm2. Willard, N. E. (2002, June 28). Schools, the internet, and copyright law. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech121.shtml3. (2012). Copyright symbol. (2012). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://copyrightsymbolmac.com/
“The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined.” (“Copyright fair use,” 2009). If you criticize an author’s work, you may freely take a quotation without asking the author for permission. If the author who has the copyright disagrees with your interpretation of Fair Use, they may pursue a lawsuit. If it is not Fair Use then you are infringing “upon the rights of the copyright owner and may be liable for damages” (“Chapter 9: Fair use,” 2009). It is somewhat difficult to obtain an image or graphic due to copyright but the fourth fair use statement applies to this area. This also applies for online music and videos, so the availability of these resources are slim for educational purposes.
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